Boston Police Fight Inquiry Into Assault, Brutality And Other Misconduct

Maine ‘s Krista Dittmeyer’s body has been found. The mother of the infant who was found in her car is dead. Meanwhile, a Lowell man needs a Massachusetts murder attorney as he is accused of killing his wife. Two Roxbury handguns were recovered by police after chasing and apprehending two individuals.

None of these stories are the subject matter of today’s blog. Instead, let’s deal with a real issue. Something that is really causing consternation to the Commonwealth’s law enforcement community. After all, they are our protection and the keepers of our liberty, aren’t they?

Well, some of those liberties perhaps.

They were a bit miffed last week. You see, Suffolk University Law School Students are asking some apparently embarrassing questions. One such student has taken on a project which Boston Police brass and union officials call in “cop-hate baiting at its worst.”

The police are so upset, in fact, that the university itself is seeking to distance itself from the project. The college ordered the fliers taken down, saying the collaboration between Suffolk Law students, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Boston Black Men’s Leadership Group should not have used the law school’s logo.

The hateful and offensive actions at issue is the posting of fliers for the “Police Misconduct Documentation Project” and the “Police Complaint Assistance Project”. These posters ask horrible questions like “Have you been abused, brutalized or mistreated by the Boston Police … ?”

Just imagine such a thing!

Apparently, according to the police and the university, such offensive questions should not be asked. One would imagine that such information therefore should not be compiled and should be silently swept under the rug.

After all, what is wrong with alittle police abuse? They have a hard job…aren’t the entitled to knock around a few folks?

Be assured, the various Suffolk University and Boston Police officials have stated reasons for being disgruntled by the posters.

I would simply submit that they are not valid.

Further, even if they were valid, it is disturbing that our protectors seek to prevent that which is, at the very least,well within Constitutional protections of freedom of speech. Further, I would assume that the Boston Police Department would want to at least pretend that they care about and are against things like police brutality.

I guess such assumptions arew foolish on my part.

I think it is wroth noting that nobody is indicating that all police officers are abusive. Further, nobody is alleging that instances of abuse by police officers do not exist. It might also be worthwhile to note that Suffolk University often collects various crime statistics upon which others rely. But then, the alleged perpetrators of those crimes are not regularly dressed in blue.

The most confusing part of this latest police tantrum is that, if what they say is true, I cannot imagine why they would be against such a study. The police want us to believe that police misconduct happens very infrequently. Further, they claim that in those miniscule number of such cases, the police department handle it very Efficiently within their own department. Therefore, unless they are being as dishonest as they regularly are with suspects whom they interrogate , one would assume that the results of any such studies would make them look good!

But then, there I go assuming again…!

“So, Sam, assuming I am neither a police officer or a student, what does this story have to do with me?”

Well, I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about the arrogance of law enforcement in this state and the prosecutors, and often judges, who encourage or promote it. Frankly put, imagine the audacity of law enforcement, who we entrust with weapons and rely upon to protect us putting enough pressure on a law school to shut down a study about police misconduct.

If that is not enough to make you nauseous, think about the law school that backed down…!

This is the atmosphere that we live in. It is the atmosphere that our kids live in. And it is the atmosphere that you will find yourself confronted with should you ever be accused of a crime.

If your accuser is a police officer, which it often is, it is the backdrop behind you as the criminal justice system determines your innocence…regardless of what the U.S. Constitution might say.

If you truly understand this, you realize how scary this is.

If you realize how scary this is, you can see how foolhardy it is to simply figure you can trust the powers that be and engage them without representation.

Some Select Cases are referred to other attorneys for principal responsibility

By publishing this information on this Website, the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Altman & Altman LLP is not claiming to represent any clients or cases mentioned here. The content provided is designed to inform readers and is not intended as legal advice.